UPDATED: 01/10/2025 1 October 1881, Circus Proprietor Richard Bell dies. 1 October 1899, Six Black miners killed in a mud rush in De Beers Mine. 1 October 1909, Frances Baard born in Beaconsfield, Kimberley. 1 October 1920, De Beers announce that 101 employees ...
Read More »
UPDATED: 06/08/2025 6 August 1883, Beaconsfield Village Management Board elected. 6 August 1986, Six soldiers based at Intelligence School die in a vehicle accident. Six soldiers die in accident at Danie Theron Combat School In one of Kimberley’s worst single ...
Read More »
UPDATED: 23/06/2025 23 June 1891, South African Teachers Association meets in Kimberley. Visiting teachers royally entertained It was at a Cape Town conference in 1887 that the South African Teacher’s Association was formally constituted, having been a Cape Colony orientated ...
Read More »
UPDATED: 11/06/2025 11 June 1888, South Africa’s first War Memorial, the Beaconsfield Town Hall, opened. Pictured is the original building shortly after the opening in 1888, as well as a postcard and photograph depicting the Hall in 1902 or shortly ...
Read More »
UPDATED: 26/05/2025 26 May 1873, Formation of the Griqualand Mounted Police in Kimberley. 26 May 1884, SA cricketer Louis Stricker born in Beaconsfield. The formation of the Mounted Police In the early days of the diamond fields, Nicholas Waterboer’s territory ...
Read More »
UPDATED: 23/05/2025 23 May 1886, Foundation stone of All Saints Church in Beaconsfield laid. 23 May 1900, Presentation to Town Council by Dr R Harris of Cecil Rhodes’ portrait. 23 May 2013, Sylvia Lucas inducted as Premier of the Northern ...
Read More »
UPDATED: 20/05/2025 20 May 1883, Robert Milne murdered in Beaconsfield. 20 May 1889, Beaconsfield Public Library and Institution officially opened. 20 May 1895, De Beers Mine Recreation Room, formerly the Boardroom, opens. 20 May 1947, Retired Head librarian John Gow Ross ...
Read More »
UPDATE: 24/04/2025 24 April 1884, South Africa’s first industrial strike begins, by miners. 24 April 1941, Steam tram derails at Kenilworth terminus. Pictured is the Kimberley Central Diamond Mining Company shaft circa 1886 – at the Kimberley Mine (Big Hole). ...
Read More »
UPDATED: 23/04/2025 23 April 1936, Charter meeting of the SA Museums Association held at the Public Library. 23 April 1941, Steam tram arrives in Kenilworth village for the first time. 23 April 1953, Springbok rugby player John D McCulloch commits ...
Read More »
UPDATED: 07/04/2025 7 April 1881, JB Robinson takes his seat in the Cape Legislative Assembly. 7 April 1904, Gladstone Park opens. 7 April 1972, SA cricketer Gerhardus Liebenberg born in Upington. The Artist Philip Bawcombe Philip William Bawcombe was born ...
Read More »